Tony Ferguson has not taken kindly to criticism from his cold-war rival Khabib Nurmagomedov. The two were booked in five bouts, but a matchup never materialized. ‘The Eagle’ Nurmagomedov retired as an undefeated UFC world champion, and ‘El Cucuy‘ feels that they have unfinished business.
Khabib Nurmagomedov will be coaching Islam Makhachev this weekend at UFC 280. Makhachev is set to battle Charles Oliveira for the crown previously held by Khabib.
In the leadup to this Abu Dhabi showdown, Nurmagomedov was asked about his old rival, Ferguson, while speaking to UFC Russia, and said:
“[Tony Ferguson’s] time is up, and there’s no way to get it back. Not Khabib, not Tony, nobody. We had our time, and it passed … He continues to fight, he needs money. You have to pay your bills in the U.S., and I’m sure that since he’s a Californian, I know all the Californian fighters – everything he earned, take half of that. I think he keeps fighting for money to pay bills, taxes. He has a family, I think he has two kids. I don’t blame him, but you can’t get back time. When your time goes away it doesn’t ask your name.”
‘El Cucuy’ Tony Ferguson responds to Khabib Nurmagomedov
The 38-year-old MMA fighter Tony Ferguson heard these words and responded on Twitter:
“Oh Fathead, When Will You Ever Grow A Pair of Balls & Stop Writing Checks Your Body Can’t Cash 💯 Pops Would Be Pissed If He Knew How Much Of A Turd Ya’Turned Into 📉 What A Eunic 🫵😂 Does This Dude Even Tiramisu 🤷♂️- Champ ⚔️🕶 -CSO-.”
The US-born athlete Ferguson was a one-time UFC interim world champion at lightweight. Currently, the UFC fighter is 0-5 since 2020. Prior to that, he looked unstoppable while riding a 12-fight win streak. ‘El Cucuy’ is switching to welterweight and most recently took a loss in the main event of UFC 279 against a retiring Nate Diaz.
Tony Ferguson, despite retirement, still wants Khabib Nurmagomedov. He even called out the Dagestani fighter to pitch coaching a season of TUF against one another. UFC President Dana White and ‘The Eagle’ himself both seemed interested in the idea in June. No further updates are available on that story.
